The University of Northern Iowa wrestling team concluded its participation in the 2026 Big 12 Championships at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday night. Four Panther athletes secured placements in their respective weight classes.
Caleb Rathjen finished as runner-up at 149 pounds. Julian Farber earned third place for the second consecutive season at 133 pounds. Ryder Downey placed fourth at 165 pounds, while Nick Fox finished ninth at 184 pounds.
With these results, Rathjen, Farber, and Downey have qualified for the NCAA Championships in Cleveland through NCAA allocations in their respective weight categories.
In the 149-pound final, Rathjen faced top-seeded and seventh-ranked Casey Swiderski from Oklahoma State. After allowing a first-period takedown and an escape, Rathjen trailed but managed to reduce Swiderski’s lead to 4-2 by escaping from bottom position in the third period. As Swiderski was called for stalling late in the match, Rathjen received another point but ultimately lost after Swiderski secured a riding time point for a final score of 5-3.
Farber advanced to his third-place match via medical forfeit and faced No. 15 Gunner Andrick of West Virginia—a rematch from earlier rounds. Farber overcame an early deficit to win 5-3 and secure third place.
Downey began Saturday with a victory over Marcus Espinoza-Owens of South Dakota State in the consolation semifinals by a score of 4-2, which also clinched his spot at the NCAA Championships for a third straight year. In his third-place bout against No. 13 Connor Euton (Iowa State), Downey started strong with an early takedown but eventually fell short with a close loss of 13-12 to finish fourth.
At 184 pounds, Nick Fox claimed ninth place after defeating No. 10 Brian Soldano (Oklahoma) by a narrow margin of 4-3.
The next step is selection for at-large berths to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which will be announced Tuesday, March 10. Tournament seeds and brackets are scheduled for release Wednesday, March 11. The championships will take place March 19–21 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.
In team standings, Oklahoma State led with 176 points followed by Iowa State with 144 points; UNI finished tenth overall with a total of 51 points.
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